Hello everyone, I am Linda Mam, co-president of the permaculture association Les Génies Verts and one of the little hands behind Récup'Truck 64, the first vegan and anti-waste food truck in the Basque Country.
Today, I dedicate a large part of my daily life to raising public awareness about the notion of sustainable food: whether through cooking workshops, catering services or solidarity meal donations, I try with my comrades to normalize the fight against waste and to make vegan food accessible (and delicious!).
I owe my eco-responsible commitment to a trigger, an awareness ; who woke up in several stages during a 15-month hitchhiking trip in Latin America.
Far from my Western comfort zone, I volunteered with different eco-villages, permaculture farms, NGOs and autonomous communities. Working the land and living minimally for more than a year pushed me to no longer take for granted what Nature could offer us.
I was also largely inspired by the crowd of locals and travelers on my way and by the best-seller “Homo Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari that I had just read during this trip.
Apart from the Les Génies Verts association , I am also part of the network of entrepreneurs in the circular economy Humans By Nature and I campaign with the L214 association for animal rights in the Basque Country. I am also touched by the theme of precariousness and people in exile and sometimes give my time to the Zuekin association in Biarritz and the Sawa and Kabubu associations in Paris.
The way I perceive the world around me and the way I interact with others has been strongly influenced by this hitchhiking trip to Latin America, that was the starting point but I was also awakened by books that inspired me. have shaken up such as the “4 Toltec agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz, “Think like a monk” by Jay Shetty and “Rather flow with beauty than float without grace” by Corinne Morel-Darleux.
Since we're focusing on Latin America, let me tell you an anecdote :
One day on the road to Huacachina in Peru, I was sitting alone on a sidewalk leaning on my big backpack waiting for my partner at the time. An old gentleman with his cane then approached me and handed me a 10 Peruvian sol note (or €2)! “Courage my daughter, the situation in… Venezuela must be so hard” he told me. I laughed a lot while explaining the situation to him and obviously gave him his ticket back and thanked him warmly. He mistook me for a Venezuelan refugee because in 2018, the country was in the middle of a serious economic and political crisis and everyone was fleeing to neighboring countries, we met a lot of them on the road. This anecdote will always warm my heart because when talking with this old gentleman, he was far from being a Peruvian millionaire but he was the very example that solidarity has no number or borders.
I like to think that the desire to support noble causes is contagious. So if I had to give advice to those who haven't yet taken the plunge:
It’s quite simply about never “forcing yourself” to convey a certain self-image but doing things with heart and authenticity. We are all unique and we are all affected by different issues. It is up to each of us to identify what drives us, and in particular what revolts us, and to provide our support according to our own skills and means. Every gesture counts, no matter how “small” it may be.
It’s quite simply about never “forcing yourself” to convey a certain self-image but doing things with heart and authenticity. We are all unique and we are all affected by different issues. It is up to each of us to identify what drives us, and in particular what revolts us, and to provide our support according to our own skills and means. Every gesture counts, no matter how “small” it may be.
However, adopting a more ethical and responsible lifestyle is not a linear process;
I do not proclaim myself as a “vegan” person even if it represents 90% of my diet because I sometimes make deviations during the year and I do not want to feel judged because of this. label. My path to veganism is far from linear and I think that as with any change of habit, it is important to respect your own timing as long as you leave your comfort zone and stay grounded in his motivations. Likewise for the plane which I am trying to drastically reduce, I will never take a domestic flight but to go to Africa for example, the options are reduced when you have limited time. I hope one day to be able to push the challenge even further regarding my travels and favor only the boat, the train, hitchhiking, public transport…
I do not proclaim myself as a “vegan” person even if it represents 90% of my diet because I sometimes make deviations during the year and I do not want to feel judged because of this. label. My path to veganism is far from linear and I think that as with any change of habit, it is important to respect your own timing as long as you leave your comfort zone and stay grounded in his motivations. Likewise for the plane which I am trying to drastically reduce, I will never take a domestic flight but to go to Africa for example, the options are reduced when you have limited time. I hope one day to be able to push the challenge even further regarding my travels and favor only the boat, the train, hitchhiking, public transport…
Find Les Génies Verts here .
On Instagram @lesgeniesverts
